The Entwives
by The Lonely God With a Box
Summary: Merry and Pippin search for the Entwives and find them in an unexpected place. One-shot.


_**A/N: This was a story I found from a few years ago. My writing style has changed some since then, and I did this for school actually so I had space limitations too, so that's why it may seem a bit rushed.**_

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Merry and Pipping were up early one morning in the Shire in Middle Earth. It was after the War of the Ring, and Frodo Baggins had set sail for the land of the Elves with Elrond and Biblo some time ago. Sam had settled down with his wife, Rosie Cotton, now a Gamgee, and he had quite a large family. Merry and Pippen both in a way missed the life of adventure that they had known once. Since neither of them had settled down with a wife and family yet, they felt they had the freedom to go to do things on their own. So one morning, they had gotten up extra early with the intent of exploring the Old Woods. They had determined that the Ent wives might be there, and to help their old friend, Treebeard, they were going to look for them.

Merry and Pipping had their traveling belongings all packed, and they began to walk off out of the civilized part of the Shire in the brisk morning air. Some of the other hobbits were already up as well, and they watch Merry and Pippin as they departed. Few actually knew where they were going, and fewer cared. But there was the occasional hobbit who made some remark to the effect of, "I knew that Frodo Baggins would affect our peaceful Shire. Couldn't just live like a normal hobbit, no, he had to go gallivantin' off into the wilderness with the big folk and wizards. And now look, he's infected the minds of poor Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took. We all can understand the Took though, after all, Tooks are related to Bagginses, but the poor Brandybuck." And then he would shake his head and continue to smoke his pipe weed.

Merry and Pipping really didn't mind the criticism they received, whether public or private. And so they made no attempt to hide the fact that they were going to be gone for a few days. They followed the path leading out of the Shire until they reached a point where the Old Woods rose up on either side of them. Then they left the path and began to walk through the Old Woods. Many hobbits were afraid of the Old Woods, because there were stories of trees that would grab an unsuspecting hobbit by the ankle and drag him down under the soil. It was just these stories that led Merry and Pipping to believe that the Ent wives might be present in this place.

Shortly, they reached a place where they chose to stop and have their second breakfast.

"You know, Pip," Merry said, "At least when we're running the adventure we can eat when we please. None of this one or two meals a day business." Pippin agreed. They sat down next to some innocent looking trees, and began to picnic their way through second breakfast. Only a minute after they began did they hear a loud clear whistle from their left.

"It's Tom Bombadil!" Pipping exclaimed leaping up at once. Sure enough, Pippin was right. It was their old friend Tom Bombadil who they had met when they left the Shire so many years ago with Frodo and Sam.

"Hello, my young friends," Tom said when he reached them. "What brings you out my way?"

"We're looking for the Ent wives. Do you know if they are in your forest?" Pippin replied.

"There is one in my forest," Tom said slowly. "And she knows where the others are."

"So then the others are still alive?" Merry asked excitedly.

"From what I am told, that is the case," Tom said. "I can take you to the one Ent wife here and she will do with you what she sees fit. All I know is the other wives live somewhere else, and it is difficult to get there. She may want to show you the place and trust her if she does. I assure you, she will not hurt you intentionally." Tom turned and began his merry whistle again, while the two hobbits followed close behind, lest they lose him in the forest.

After a few minutes of hiking, Tom stopped, and knocked on a tree's trunk with his fist.

"Ent wife!" he called out. "I have two hobbits who would like to speak with you regarding the Ents." There was a slow murmur from the tress, which slowly became somewhat intelligible.

"Hobbits," it said, "what do you want about the Ents?"

"We know Treebeard," Merry replied. "He told us that if we ever found the Ent wives, to ask them to come back to Fangorn Forest. The Ents want you back. Without you, there are no Entlings. Will you go back?"

"I will not go back alone," she replied. "I must have the decision of my sisters."

"Where are they?" Pippin asked.

"They are in a place under the soil. I will take you there." Her roots grabbed out and took them by the ankles and began to pull them under. Merry and Pipping recoiled in terror. But Tom gestured that the Ent wife would not hurt them. They cautiously relaxed, and she pulled them through a pool of quick sand. They held their breathe, and when they returned to the air, they were in another woods all together, and there was a different tree holding on to them.

"Are you an Ent wife too?" Pippin asked.

"Yes, I am," the tree moaned. Merry repeated his story about the Ents.

"Let me confer with my sisters here in this land, and we will tell you our decision." She began to wave her branches and talking in Entish to the other nearby trees. Merry and Pipping fell asleep, knowing how long a conference of the Ents could take.

They woke with a start. Something loud had happened, but they couldn't quite remember what. Looking around, they saw a yellow beast watching them. It had a brown mane and huge paws. Then he spoke.

"Marriadoc Brandybuck and Perigrin Took," he said. "You are here to bring the Ent wives back to Middle Earth. I congratulate you."

"Where are we now?" Pipping ask.

"You are in the realm of Narnia. I am the Great Lion, Aslan. The Ent wives are never going to finish their meeting unless someone encourages them a little. I will transfer them all back to Fangorn for you, and you back to your home in the Shire. The Ent wives will appreciate being with the Ents. It is for their own good."

The lion threw his head back and roared. In a blink, Merry and Pippin were on the outskirts of the Shire, and later they learned that as Aslan had promised, the Ent wives had been returned to Fangorn, where they were with the Ents, and there were little Entlings once again.


End file.
